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Africa North
Insanity in Libya
2011-02-23
[Asharq al-Aswat] What is happening in Libya today, with the state-sponsored violence, is madness in the very sense of the word. The scale of violence the state is using to suppress the demonstrators has reached the point to suggest that the regime is willing to destroy the whole country in order to remain in power, where Colonel Qadaffy has ruled for 42 years.

What is happening in Libya suggests that the regime has come to an end, both internally and externally. Internally, it ended with the magnitude of violence carried out against its own citizens, using weapons and live ammunition of all kinds. According to Al-Jazeera, the regime used fighter jets to strike certain areas of Tripoli. Here we see divisions in the ranks of the Libyan army, and the resignations of Libyan ministers and ambassadors around the world. Here we see Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society [Ibrahim Omar Al Dabashi], demanding Qadaffy step down. No one dares remain affiliated with a regime that uses such horrific violence against its unarmed populace. There are tribes in Libya rebelling against the regime, and this is very important, and of course has implications. Libyan cities are falling one after the other, at the hands of anti-government protestors.

Externally, we see the countries of the world condemning the violence used by the Libyan regime, against its own people. Some were surprised by the American statement, which said that Washington was still considering "all appropriate actions". The only plausible analysis is that the B.O. regime today has proved the weakness of its strategy, regarding what is happening in the Arab region. Of course there is concern about the coming days, the future of the region as a whole, and its future policies. The international community senses the gravity of the situation today, and the possibility that the Libyan regime will fall. Western countries have begun to withdraw their citizens from Libya, for what is happening there now is impossible for the international community to overcome.

All of the above suggests that there is only a small possibility of the Libyan regime remaining in power. It is teetering severely, and the ground beneath it is shaking violently. Foreign circles consider the regime to be all but over, especially as the British Foreign Minister yesterday cited information indicating that Colonel Muammar Qadaffy
... dictator of Libya since 1969. From 1972, when he relinquished the title of prime minister, he has been accorded the honorifics Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution. With the death of Omar Bongo of Gabon on 8 June 2009, he became the longest serving of all current non-royal national leaders. He is also the longest-serving ruler of Libya since Tripoli became an Ottoman province in 1551. When Chairman Mao was all the rage and millions of people were flashing his Little Red Book, Qadaffy came out with his own Little Green Book, which didn't do as well. Qadaffy's instability has been an inspiration to the Arab world and to Africa, which he would like to rule...
was on his way to Venezuela, despite Venezuelan officials denying such reports. This may mean that Colonel Qadaffy is seeking refuge, especially as another significant event indicated the imminent fall of the regime. Saif al-Islam Qadaffy came out the day before yesterday, issuing a lengthy speech that threatened the Libyans, yet the following day he went on to declare the formation of a fact-finding committee; a clear indication of the decline of the Libyan ruling system. This scenario will be familiar to any observer, after what happened in Tunisia and Egypt, where late responses [to the demands of the people] were a crucial indicator of the imminent collapse of those regimes.

Therefore the fall of the Libyan regime has become a probability. If the regime remains in power, then its existence will be very difficult. However,
The infamous However...
the fear today, for everyone, is the increasing corpse count amongst the innocent and defenseless citizens. With the magnitude of weapons available to the Libyan regime, which has shown it will not hesitate to use against unarmed citizens, the corpse count is increasing in a terrifying manner.

Therefore, we can do nothing but say: May God protect and help the unarmed citizens of Libya.
Posted by:Fred

#11  I love the last line of the article alluding to the shooting of unarmed 'citizens'.

With so many police stations and Libyan army bases raided, some of those citizens aren't anything like unarmed any more...
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-02-23 16:21  

#10  I love the last line of the article alluding to the shooting of unarmed 'citizens'. Sorry, but unarmed 'citizens' aren't 'citizens', they're subjects. Thank you "Founding Father's" for the 2nd Amendment.
Posted by: Total War   2011-02-23 16:02  

#9  Would I get any debate if I postulated that without Western interference, most of the Middle East would devolve back to tribes living in tents and engaging in interfraticidinal blood disputes over goats and watering holes?

And piracy, which has a long tradition in the coastal cities of the Maghreb and Somalia and all. Slave running of black Africans has never really stopped, as so many stories from northern Sudan attest.
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-02-23 15:54  

#8  Would I get any debate if I postulated that without Western interference, most of the Middle East would devolve back to tribes living in tents and engaging in interfraticidinal blood disputes over goats and watering holes?

Islam has institutionalized a nomadic, anticivilization mind set among the clerics and in countries with strong clerical influence over the government, they are one good civil insurrection away from the 8th century.
Posted by: Bill Clinton   2011-02-23 15:12  

#7  I just hope the US Government and the moron in the White House keep thier yaps SHUT, and stay the hell out of all of this turmoil. These people have a history of whacking each other every few decades or so. Let them have at it!
Posted by: Besoeker   2011-02-23 10:00  

#6  The video of Daffy in his pickup truck, hat with ear flaps, and umbrella was bizarre, surrealistic and insane. Time to put the mad dog down when he starts gunning down his people with abandon.
Posted by: JohnQC   2011-02-23 09:49  

#5  What is happening in Libya today, with the state-sponsored violence, is madness in the very sense of the word.

Which gives credence to the view that 'history' is only the period of one's lifetime. As the real record shows, this is pretty much standard operating procedure for governments up till 60 years ago whether its on the steps of Odessa or the draft riots of New York. Or for that matter Madison.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2011-02-23 08:56  

#4  Obama's not "voting 'present'"--he's focused on the really important issues, like preventing childhood obesity and telling the state of Wisconsin how to run its affairs.
Posted by: Mike   2011-02-23 08:47  

#3  a political gadfly
Posted by: JohnQC   2011-02-23 08:25  

#2  I'm not sure he is voting present. Maybe he has a surrogate voting present. He is not engaged in much but minutia that really should not concern him. He is a micromanager and not a very good one at that--apolitical gadfly. Weak President and getting weaker all the time.
Posted by: JohnQC   2011-02-23 08:24  

#1  Obama is doing what he does best: vote present.
Posted by: OldSpook   2011-02-23 00:13  

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